Well I'm back in the Sheraton in Riyadh and it only feels right to catch up on the blogging since this is where I spent so much time with my job last year.
It has been non-stop since I got back for the US. Stores are in sale event, people have gotten fired, hired, new appointments made for upcoming months, stores opening, stores canceled, new countries added... it's been crazy.
While I was on Holiday in the US they opened the last three stores of the year in new Emirates of the UAE, Sharja, AlAin, and AbuDhabi, so I have been spending time with those teams, and getting to know those areas which are kinda like mini-states within the UAE- hence it's called the "United Arab Emirates"-- ugh? ugh? Get it? I didn't till I started traveling and then was like Oh yea, look at this! Each emirate has it's own unique situation. Dubai is by far the most metropolitan. AbuDhabi is suprisingly older and more conservative. AlAin is old school and out in the middle of the desert, but nice. Fujairah is an amazing drive through the mountains to the coast where the straits of Hormuz are that has been in the news recently. I have a picture of the staits up there- lots of ship traffic, so I can see how it would be problematic if they closed. So it's been an adventure right in my own backyard!
Today is my first time being back in Riyadh since my "around the gulf in 36hrs" trip that we did the first of October. The Regional manager quit about two months ago, they never hired the DM, and there are only 2 store managers but we have 4 stores here. So I am "anxious" to get into stores tomorrow and see what's going on. I've been flipping through my arabic flash cards so I can fluently say "what is this?" "Why is this happening" and "no". :-) But then I have to understand their answer which won't happen, but at least I'll look like I'm in the know.
My biggest surprise so far was the temperature. It is only 40degrees out right now in Riyadh! Ah! Thank goodness I grabbed my wool suit for tomorrow, because I did not bring a jacket. In Dubai it's cold- but when I say cold I mean 70's. So this to me is freezing! And here was a learn- when I got back from the US, all the men were wearing Dark grey and dark blue robes instead of white. I asked my boss about it and he said it's their winter clothes- heavier weight so they are warmer. Well what he really said was "its when you get out ya Jumpas for Au um, (jumpers for autumn)- which in British to English translations: Jumpers are sweaters and autumn is winter. He has some crazy terms for things. I immediately giggled because I imagine a Jumper to be denim bib-overalls but with shorts, not full leg jeans, and of course I imagine my boss in that- and it's just not pretty. :-)
I was kinda shocked also by the amount of people on the plane, and in customs, and their airport, and the traffic, and the "all" of traveling into Riyadh. I really got used to it because I was here to often in the summer and fall and then I take a three month hiatus and it's like walking into a different world all over again.
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